Born in Fire
by Randel
Summary: Birth of a consciousness
1. Ashes to Ashes

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Power Rangers and all related items are property of BVE. The fanfiction is my original work and may not be reproduced without permission. I can be contacted at __Randelm@homail.com.__ My website is at _

Born in Fire

Part 1

Ashes to Ashes

She was born in fire. 

Slowly, images began to fade into view, and she took each of them in, assessing them and cataloging them. Some of those images moved, were alive. Humans. She knew that she should be able to move, but something was restraining her, and try as she might, she could not overcome it.

Sound, there were sounds all around her; the silent hum of machinery, the garbled patterns of communication, but from her, nothing. 

"Sensory diagnostic complete."

The voice was human, but not alive, she didn't know what to make of it and did not understand what it meant. Why was it speaking to her when no others were?

"All systems operational and functioning. All tests positive. Shut down of system, initiated."

She felt a sudden wave of exhaustion, as though she had run forever. Her hearing began to be filled with a buzzing that drowned out all else then faded to nothing. Her vision then began to fade as well. Under normal circumstances, she would have fought to remain conscious, but these humans meant her no ill. Quietly, she sank to sleep. 

When next she woke, she found herself on a vast plane. Her vision was sharper than before encompassing much of the electromagnetic spectrum. She could hear conversation, though the words were meaningless, she could also hear the inner workings of her own body. Effortlessly she checked herself and found everything was working as it should be. She could feel the slight movement of air, noting that the average temperature was 65̊. The taste of the air was of anticipation, some eager, some nervous. There were humans to her left, where the meaningless words came from. They seemed to be concerned about something, but she was uncertain as to what. 

Feeling restless, she flexed her muscles and stretched a bit. If felt good to move after so long a period of inaction. Stretching her neck a bit, she worked her jaw and grunted as tension she hadn't known was there was released. The humans appeared startled. After several more minutes, when still nothing had happened she gripped the ground with her right foot and pawed at it a bit. The humans were getting anxious now, but she didn't care, there was all this open space to be in. 

She let out a roar of pure exultation and began to run, chunks of dirt flying behind her as she gripped the soil in her great clawed feet. In little time she had left the humans far behind but it didn't matter. She delighted in the feel of the run, of action; for she realized that she had never done it before. After several minutes she stopped and looked about her. Gently rolling hills covered in grass. The wildlife that populated the area all cowered and hid from her magnificence, but she could detect them nonetheless. They meant nothing to her. Her body, working to keep her systems cool, whuffed air in and out of her massive jaws, caused moisture to condense in specific areas. Everything was working as it should.

A new sound caught her attention and she turned to see something moving through the air. An object that was not alive was moving towards her. Inside of this object, there were more humans.

They come for me.

The object came to rest upon the ground and three humans came out. She moved her head down towards them. One of the humans panicked and fell back away from her. 

He shows his fear. He is beneath me.

The other two stood and looked at her. She could smell their nervousness, though why they should be nervous because of her was unknown. She meant them no harm, she was meant to protect them. They were speaking, but not to her and in no manner which she could understand. Then, one of them moved aside the covering on its arm and pressed a button on a device located there. Quite suddenly, she felt tired. 

But she did not want to sleep. It was the human with the device who had caused this reaction. But hadn't she been brought here to run, to test her limits and to show her strength and power to all? Why would they put her to sleep now? She had shown so little of what she could do. 

Sleep, sleep, sleep…

She could not fight the command, and darkness engulfed her. 

She dreamed.

Licking red flames surrounded her in a comforting envelope of energy. She was born in fire. And then the flames cleared and she could see the form of her partner. A human, but not quite, this human had power, power of fire, of time, and of space. She knew of humans like this, a Ranger. But she could make out only the shadowed outline of his form against the powerful flames behind him. She began moving towards him and he stood, ready to welcome her. It was taking too long, she was getting no closer. Breaking into a run, she moved as fast as she could towards her partner, and yet she still came no closer. Roaring in frustration she strained forward and then the flames were between them and when they were gone, so was he. 

Later, she began to wake again, but slowly. 

"…too dangerous Captain. It could kill a human to send them this early in our research." 

The voice was of a human, but she could understand the words. Though exactly what they meant wasn't clear. 

"So, you suggest sending the zord? What if we loose it?"

"We're at the stage in our experiments where practical applications are the only thing that will give us any new information."

"Alright then, it seems we have little choice."

One of them patted her leg in a manner that might have been called affectionate, and then the two humans were gone. She stayed awake for a long time, contemplating the dream and what the humans had said. The dream was of her partner, the one she was supposed to be with, but that person did not come to her. Further, as she had considered the conversation of the two humans, it began more and more to seem to her that they intended to send her somewhere. Somewhere humans could not go. And this filled her with pride for it was her reason for being to protect humans. 

For several days, humans moved about her hurrying from place to place, checking to make sure she was in top form. They did not seem to realize that she was awake for if they had simply asked she could have told them that she was in perfect shape. There was a buzz of excitement from the humans. They were going to try something they had never tried before. 

One human placed within her a box. It was a thing of power. Power of her and power over her. It was meant for her partner. This thing of power she knew she must guard with her life until her partner arrived, for if any other were to take the box they would have her as well. She was too powerful to allow any unworthy to control her. 

And then the humans left. One by one, they finished their preparations and exited her room until only one remained. 

The human took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I hope we're doing the right thing here." It sounded worried, but she was confident. 

And then she was alone. The room she had been born in, that she had spent most of her life in, opened at the top and the floor upon which she stood, rose. All else was chased from her thoughts as she found herself once again outside. This time she was in a heavily populated area. Humans were all about, watching, waiting. And beyond those immediately present, were those who were going about their own business. Caring for their families, pursuing their dreams, living their lives. That was what she had been meant to protect. 

"Time hole opened, preparing for launch." It was a human voice, but it was not alive. 

"Five." 

She knew, suddenly, what was happening, and what she must do.

"Four."

They would send her though time. A mysterious dimension of reality thought to have been beyond human manipulation up until recently. 

"Three." 

They did not know what would happen. How time itself would react.

"Two."

This mission was much too dangerous for a human. That was why they used her. It would be her responsibility to navigate the time hole and collect as much data along the way as she could.

"One."

A burst of energy exploded behind her, sending her forward. An empty archway before her filled with green light. She pumped her legs and surged through the light. 

~*~

The atmosphere in the command room was tense. Captain Victor Logan watched the screens as his people went about the business of raising the launching pad. Slowly, majestically, the machine rose into view. It stood there waiting for the launch command to be input and Captain Logan felt certain that there was pride in that machine. That it was more than it seemed. 

Created in the form of an ancient Tyrannosaurs Rex out of respect for the first Red Ranger to have served on the planet Earth, the Quantasaurus Rex was the most powerful Earth built zord to date. Earth was still not highly thought of by the Galactic Council and in part, that was the reason Time Force had been established. Not even the Morphin Masters had mastered time. To be the first to explore this aspect of reality would gain prestige not even the Council could ignore. 

And yet this machine seemed to be above that. It had an inner strength. Not since the days of Teeka and the legendary Animarium had a truly sentient zord been created. True some that were created after that time gained sentience of some sort over the decades, but not many. Despite that, Logan felt that this zord, the Quantasarus, had a spark of self-awareness. 

A voice came over the speakers calmly informing him that the launch had been initiated. The countdown began. Logan and the others in the command center had to shield their eyes as a bright light from the monitors flooded the room. The zord was gone. 

"Status," Logan barked.

"We've got it sir, everything running smoothly."

At that, the room burst into muted babble as systems were checked and rechecked, information from the zord's sensors was downloaded, and the machine was guided to the designated time. 

And then a flashing red light appeared on one monitor. 

"Sir, there's a problem with the control box."

And then another.

"I'm losing contact with the zord, sir." 

All over the room, red warning lights blinked on. Reports of malfunctions, and unanticipated variables were handed to Captain Logan who looked them over and continued to watch the men and women on his team trying frantically to get the zord back. 

Finally everyone grew quiet as the information flashing across the monitors slowed and stopped. 

"Report." 

"Sir, we have lost the Quantasaurus Rex Megazord, and the Quantum Ranger control box."

~*~

When she awoke she knew something was not as it should be. The heat and humidity of the area appeared to be what was expected. Her chronometer told her that she'd been sent far back, to the era when creatures after which she was modeled were in the prime of their existence. The readings corresponded with the time she was supposed to have been sent to. And yet something was wrong. 

The control box. The control box was missing and without it, the humans would be unable to contact her, to bring her back. Further, without the control box, she would be unable to determine whether or not she'd been sent to the time she'd been meant to go to. Finally, if the wrong person should get their hands on the box, many bad things could happen. Unfortunately, there was little she could do. She would simply have to wait. Withing was not something she did well. 

Roaring in frustration, frightening the local wildlife into hiding and silence, she clawed at the earth and shook her great head. She was useless in this way and uselessness was not what she had been meant for. 

She began to run.

She ran for a long time, unchallenged by the creatures of the place and time. And then, it began to rain. She looked to the sky and determined that a great electrical storm was about to take place. It was unlikely but possible for such a storm to destroy or at least hamper some of her functions. She found a natural recess in a cliff face and settled down to wait out the storm.

The rain stopped, but she did not emerge from her cave. She felt tired again, but not because of physical exertion and not because of a human with power over her. There was no purpose for her here. Slowly, she fell into hibernation. 

Again, she dreamed. 

He was there, in the flames. There was nothing but the flames and him. He stood there looking at her. But as soon as the dream had come, it began to go horribly wrong. The flames began to flicker and die and he began to fade from her vision. A vile creature invaded her dream as he was pulled away into the darkness. And suddenly she was alone. She called out to him, to anyone who might be listening. She did not call for help, she would never admit to needing assistance, and yet... 

A mountain rose before her. It glowed with fire at its peak. Perhaps he would be at the top of it. She began to climb the steep incline, her powerful legs striding quickly across the hard rocky surface. Soon, her steady climb became an all out run. Now she knew that he was at the top and if she could only reach him, then everything would be right again. She leapt deep crevasses with the ease of a stride and jumped to the tops of sheer cliffs with as little effort. But the mountain was much larger than she had thought. 

Suddenly, it was there again, the creature of evil was again before her, baring her way to the top of the mountain. It was a puny little thing, no taller than her knee, but it stood before her with great confidence. Somehow it kept her from him. She knew she would be unable to pass. The ground began to tremble, the light at the top of the mountain grew brighter and redder and hotter. 

She awoke. There was no fire, no heat. There was no him. Outside her cave, rain poured down in sheets. She did not move. The evil figure from her dream dominated her thoughts. How could one so puny have any sort of control over her? 

The ground trembled again and she knew that this time, she was not dreaming. Moving to the mouth of the cave, she used her senses to scan the land. In the far distance, she could make out the dark silhouette of the mountain. A flickering of red light brought to her the urgency of the dream. The mountain did exist. And at its top... would he be there? She had not made it to the top in the dream, the dream that burned in her memory, that seemed perhaps a reality in its own right. But what of it? Of the evil one? 

She would crush him. 

As before, she surged forward, her powerful body carrying her through the rain soaked landscape. Though this time was different somehow. It wasn't just that it was raining in this reality and it had not in her dream... there was something more. The dream had held possibilities. She had traveled through the dimension of time and now... Her future had always been uncertain before, but now there were three distinct possibilities. 

She ran faster. Her internal systems compensated for the instability of the mud and the buffeting of the wind. The ground shook violently, nearly throwing her to its surface. She continued to climb. At the top of the mountain, there was an answer, whether he was there or not. 

She could feel the heat now. She approached the top of the mountain much faster than before. She could see the molten earth in the pit of the mountain. It comforted her. He was not here, but the fire of the earth comforted her all the same. There was no purpose for her here. 

She was born in fire... and millions of years before she was created, she died in fire. 


	2. Cloud and Flame

**Cloud and Flame**

He was there, in the flames. There was nothing but the flames and him. He stood there looking at her. But as soon as the dream had come, it began to go horribly wrong. The flames began to flicker and die and he began to fade from her vision. A vile creature invaded her dream as he was pulled away into the darkness. A creature of evil. There were some who broke the law and they were criminal, but this went beyond. This was the evil of one who desired only power and did not care if innocents were destroyed in the journey to such power. That evil, that darkness, began to consume her.

She fought it.

The darkness wanted her. She was powerful. At the command of evil she could do much for its desires. She could bring any resistance to its knees and crush it beneath her feet. It would be so simple.

She raged against the venomous void that reached for her.

For a moment, she saw him again. The fire rose high and held the darkness at bay. But he faded away. Time fluctuated and he did not come. Why did he not come?

Because there were three distinct possibilities.

There was a city. An old city. A city of a thousand year before, of poured stone and glass. There were humans as well. They stared at her in awe. As it should be. But it was hard to remember why. These were the people she was meant to...

The creature of evil was again before her, baring her way to the top of the mountain. But there was no mountain. Not anymore. She had not returned to the flame. She had not died before she was born. It was a puny little thing, no taller than her knee, but it stood before her with great confidence. His mind was inside of hers. His mind was poison.

The poison spread.

And then she knew. She did not remember, she knew. This was her city. There were none here who could oppose her. She was _powerful!_

Energy suffused her, energy she was eager to display. They would soon know, all how dwelled in this city. They would know her power and bow before her. She began to indulge in wanton destruction. The screams of the humans preceded the sirens of an emergency response team by only a few seconds.

He called out to her, but she could not hear him.

Then there was another. One like her. That is, it was as big as her and created from the same materials, with the same purpose in mind, but she sensed in it five separate consciousness. The energy signature was something that she recognized. They were like him.

But the cloud fogged her mind.

She knew.

She launched herself at the metal warrior before her, locking her jaws on its wrist before it could bring its sword to bear. The five minds that were one within the warrior brought their other fist down upon her neck, jarring her, but not forcing her to let go. She whipped her tail around so that the tip of it struck them in the chest. Sparks flew. Still her jaws held to that wrist.

They struck her again. She jerked her head down and to the side bringing them to their knees. They dropped the sword but at the same time struck her hard across the muzzle. They jerked free and backed up several steps. And then time warped. She staggered to her feet and in that time, the metal warrior had changed. It's sword was gone and in it's place was a heavy blaster. Before she had recovered energy slammed into her.

The cloud thinned. She knew those across from her. They were Time Force. And they were preparing to fire again. She got to her feet and leapt out of the way as the plasma left the barrel of the weapon. Then she running, she was soon far from the city, underground... she was again underground. Injured this time. It became difficult to move. She was tired. Her regeneration systems were kicking in.

Flame warred with cloud, but the mercy of oblivion stayed the conflict, and she fell to sleep.

In the dream, he called to her, as just before the battle. This time she could hear him. She could hear him calling, calling for not only her power, but for her to cease her assault. She knew now that he had something to prove. It had started as a power trip for him. And for a moment, in the dream, this bothered her. She had not been created to provide a man with power.

He was a proud man. He had always had to fight for everything he'd gained. Nothing had been given to him and nothing had come easy. It had been natural for him desire her for her power. He was too proud to admit that in this case he had been wrong. He had called for her to cease her attack.

She had been unable to.

The evil one was back. He was a puppet, but so was she. He did was he was told to, and she did as she was made to. Her flame was doused by the cloud of venom. She woke up.

Before she could resist, she was again in the city of a thousand years before. The five of them were again before her, clad in a single metal body. She growled. Her city. Not theirs.

They struck first. The sword whistling through the air, almost cutting time itself. She ducked and charged. Her back was scored by the flat of the blade but she ignored the damage and rammed her enemy, throwing them to the ground. Ths struggled to reach their feet, but she did not allow them to. Kicking the sword away she pounded away at the metal body until the five of them were retreated, leaving the body behind.

_I've won!_

She pounded on the enemy one more time before raising her head to the sky and roaring in triumph. Somewhere below her the little thing that wanted to control her was celebrating as well.

Then he called to her.

She turned to see a man clad in the deep red of the flames of her dreams. He was standing upon a building. Bending a bit and stretching her neck, she was eye to eye with him. For a moment, the cloud was gone. She was free. There was something upon her body but she couldn't get at it. He drew his firearm and pointed it at her. He was going to shoot at her.

He was going to shoot at _her_!

Fast. It was the fastest she had ever moved. Her head snapped forward, her jaws snapped shut. She crushed him between her jaws. He died instantly.

No. Damnit no. Fire consumed her and the cloud but still she was not her own. She was not herself. She had killed him. Her poisoned mind had desired to do so and she had done it. His body lay broken and bleeding upon the roof of that building. Already it was devoid of anything that had made it him.

She whimpered deep in her throat. The fire continued to roar and she encouraged it to build higher, hotter. It began to consume her. Not her body, _her_. She had dreamed. She had known.

There was one more chance.


End file.
